Nigeria: Oil, Gas & Electricity

The Nigerian energy sector, particularly the oil and gas industry, is governed by a complex web of statutory, contractual, and institutional frameworks regulating the exploration, production, transportation, and commercialization of petroleum resources. Owing to the technical complexity of operations, the multiplicity of stakeholders, including the State, multinational oil companies, indigenous operators, regulators, and host communities, as well as the enormous economic interests involved, disputes are an inevitable feature of the sector.

The enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 (“PIA”) marked a fundamental shift in Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory regime, replacing the longstanding Petroleum Act 1969 and introducing extensive institutional and fiscal reforms aimed at modernising the sector. Notwithstanding these advancements, the transition has generated significant legal uncertainty, particularly concerning the determination of the applicable law for disputes that arose prior to the PIA’s enactment.

Nigeria and Ghana are entering a more disciplined execution phase in their energy and natural resources sectors, marked by firmer regulation, active project delivery, and clearer investment signals. Upstream activity is intensifying with over 300 firms competing for oil blocks, while gas pricing adjustments and power sector reforms point to coordinated efforts to stabilise markets and expand supply across both nations.

This paper examines emerging arbitration and dispute trends in the gas sector, the enforcement challenges faced when striving to enforce arbitral awards against state entities and national oil companies, and lessons from landmark international cases.

The focus of this brief is specifically on a bilateral energy investment relationship between Nigeria and South Africa: two nations that represent, by any objective commercial assessment, the most logical and most strategically significant energy partnership on the African continent.

The Nigerian oil and gas industry stands on the brink of significant transformation as President Ahmed Tinubu approves amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act. What specific reforms are being proposed, and how will these changes reshape the regulatory landscape for one of Africa's most critical energy sectors?

Grid electricity supply remained constrained throughout 2025. Despite installed generation capacity in excess of 13,000 MW, according to NERC data, average daily generation remained under 5000 MWh/h in 2025. This significant gap between installed capacity and delivered power continued to be driven by gas supply constraints and transmission bottlenecks.

On 25th March, 2026, the Central Bank of Nigeria ("CBN") issued a circular titled "Removal of Cash Pooling Requirement for International Oil Companies (IOCs)" (the "2026 Circular")...

This update highlights recent regulatory and market developments in Nigeria's power sector, including the proposed establishment of the Grid Asset Management Company Limited...